Toggle-actuated sliding-jaw wrench



Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNTED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE TOGGLE-AC'EUATED SLIDlNG-SAW WRENCH William C. Ratli, Dallas, Tex.

Application March 18, 1946, Serial No. 655,167

(Cl. Slg-125) 1 3 Claims. This invention relates to utility wrenches and more specifically to the type of wrench used in gripping and turning objects of cylindrical or polygonal design.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a wrench having jaws capable of applying and maintaining a sufficiently secure grip upon objects or" a cylindrical or polygonal design without undue disguration of the surface of such objects while imparting rotational movement thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrench constructed in such a manner as to be equally effective upon objects adaptable to rotational movement irrespective of the shape of the object.

Still another object of the invention is to pro vide a tool so designed as to permit its effective use in close quarters.

A further object of the invention is to provide a portable vice or clamp, adaptable for use upon objects within its capacity.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means of locking the device at a point capable of maintaining the pressure required to hold an object rmly within its jaws.

Still further obiects and certain novel eatures cf construction will become increasingly apparent as the description proceeds, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled wrench, shown partly in section to illustrate the relative positions of itsI various parts.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of an assembled wrench, constructed according to the invention. j

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, shown partly in section to illustrate the inner construction details of the most essential parts, and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view correspending to section 11i- 4i on Figure 2.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawings, referring specifically to Figures l and 2, a means of leverage, hereinafter known as a handle It, is provided, and is bored to receive a pivotal pin Il which in turn is receivable in a housing I 2 as shown.

The end of the handle it which is encased within the housing 5E is so designed as to provide a semi-circular shoulder on each side of a protuberance i3 in order to exert longitudinal pres-- sure against side link plates i4. These links are eccentrically mounted on the protuberance I3, as

shown in Figure 3, by means of a countersunk pin or rivet l5. The opposite ends of the links are similarly mounted on an extended portion it of a jaw il except that in this instance a countersunk pin or rivet I8 is concentric with the semi-circular arc of the end of the links I4 shown in Figure 3.

jaw is capable of parallel engagement with the jaw il' is provided with a unitary extension 2f.; ridaptable to slidable longitudinal movement wit-nin the housing l2. The extension 2t is bored and threaded to receive a threaded adiusting bolt 2l as shown in Figure 3. A knurled adjusting head being an extension of the bolt 2l, provides a means of imparting rotational movement to the latter and thereby permitting adjustable longitudinal movement of the extension 2t within the housing l2 thus affording a means of adjusting the capacity of the jaws Il and lll.

The housing l2 is die-formed and is placed in position after the internal elements have been assembled. The abutting edges of the housing iii are welded together thus forming .3, continuously enclosing shell for the movable parts therein. A depression 23 in the housing l2, having an aperture 24 permits the adjusting head 22 to be manually rotated as illustrated in Figure 4.

Referring now to Figure 3, the dotted lines represent the position of the handle itl when maximum pressure has been applied at any adjustment of the jaw capacity. In this position a bore 25 in the handle lll is aligned with a perioration it in the housing l 2, thus permitting the insertion of a pin or key (not shown) through the housing i2 and the handle l, thereby locking the lever mechanism of the wrench so that it may be used on square objects where no pressure is required for holding the work firmly.

Upon releasing the pressure exerted upon the handle iii into the position shown in Figure 3, the pivotal action upon the pin il causes the enclosed end of the handle @il to move laterally outward through an opening 2l in the housing I2. This action is transmitted to the links @el by the mutually interlocking pin lli, causing a longitudinal pull to be exerted upon the interlocking pin lil, which action, in turn, compels longitudinal movement on the part of the jaw il, thereby increasing the capacity of the jaws il and i3 to release an object held therein. A shoulder 23 is provided on the jaw il adaptable for abutting engagement on an edge of the housing forming a stop i@ in order to halt the longitudinal moveoi the jaw il extension within the housing i2 Similarly, and acting in coincidence therewith, a notch or shoulder sa in the outer edges of the links lli are adaptable to abutting engagement with a stop 5l of the housing l2. In like manner a notch or shoulder 32 is adaptable to similar engagement with a stop 33 of the housing l2. For further security a notch or shoulder is adaptable to meet in direct abutment with the stop 35 of the housing i2.

It is obvious from the foregoing that the linkage mechanism locks automatically when the link assembly is depressed to the maximum since the bearing center at I5 is dispo-sed inwardly of a line drawn through the center of bearings l l and I8. Greatest pressure is exerted by the linkage when bearings Il, l5 and I8 are in line, so when bearing l5 is raised above the center line, pressure begins to diminish, thus, the mechanism is automatically locked.

Conventional methods and their applications involved in the construction of this invention include serrated jaws adaptable te parallel engagement, a knurled adjusting head, and Acme or similar thrust bearing bolt threads.

In a modied form, which is not illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the jaw extension 20 is threaded externally/'for longitudinal adjustment by an internally threaded adjusting head. The remaining elements are substantially as illustrated and described.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of further modification and such modication as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

YWhat is claimed is:

1. A sliding jaw wrench including an elongated, open ended housing having a longitudinal opening in its front, a handle pivoted intermediate its ends in one end of said housing and having an extension of reduced thickness terminating at the approximate midsection of said housing opening, an outer jaw having a longitudinally bored shank slidable in the opposite end of said housing, a bolt threaded into the bore of said shank having a head retained in slots in said housing against other than rotative movement and adapted to actuate said jaw longitudinally, an inner jaw cooperating with said outer jaw and also having a shank slidable in said housing, toggle links pivotally joining the extension of said handle and the shank of said inner jaw and adapted to yield to movement of said handle extension in said opening when said handle is actuated, the pivotal connection between said links and handle extension being disposed inwardly of a line through the centers of the pivots on opposite sides of said pivotal connection to lock said extension,

links and inner jaw shank in axial alignment and means for securing said handle against pivotal displacement with respect to said housing.

2. A sliding jaw wrench including an elongated housing having open ends and opposed slots in the sides thereof, an outer jaw having a shank slidable in one end of said housing, an

adjusting head disposed in the slots of said housof said housing and having an extension enteringV Y said housing, toggle links pivoted at their upper ends to said inner jaw shank and at their lower ends to said handle extension in odset relationship with the pivots of said handle and the upper ends of said links, to lock said handle extension, toggle links and inner jaw shank in axial alignment when said handle is moved in one direction to move said inner jaw towards said outer jaw.

3. A sliding jaw wrench including a housing having an elongated opening in one side thereof, an outer and an inner work engaging jaw, each having a shank slidable longitudinally in one end of said housing, means held against other than rotative movement in slots in said housing for longitudinally adjusting said outer jaw, a handle pivoted in the opposite end of saidV housing and having an extension in said housing, a pair of parallel links pivotally attached to said handle extension at their lower ends and to the shank of said inner jaw at their upper ends and biasing said handle extension te outward displacement in said housing openingto effect limited retractive movement of said inner jaw with respect to said outer jaw.

WILLIAM C. RAIULFF.

REFERENCES CITED.

The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,066,679 Sutherland July 8, 1913 1,195,065 Morrow Aug. 15, 1916 1,344,101 Thomas June 22, 1920 1,725,301 Plante Aug. 20, 1929 1,735 011 Plante Nov. 12, 1929 2,112,192 Geddes Mar. 22, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,838 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1910 

